Posts Tagged «mobile computing»

Google released a major update for its Project Ara platform today, with additional information on the modular platform’s upcoming capabilities, flexibility, and long-term market plans. The company will test the device in Puerto Rico later this year in preparation for a possible commercial launch.

After years of relentless litigation, it seems the mobile/smartphone patent war might be drawing to a close. Rockstar, a patent trolling company owned by Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Ericsson, and BlackBerry, has agreed to cancel the lawsuits it had filed against Google and most Android device makers. This follows on from news this summer that Apple and Google had agreed to drop all lawsuits between the two companies, and Apple and Samsung agreed to drop all lawsuits outside the US.

What has a beautiful transparent-gold chassis, a fairly big screen, decent innards, and almost no chance of getting you to switch from your Apple or Android smartphone? The new Fx0, made by LG, which runs Firefox OS.

AMOLED screens don’t work like LCDs. There’s no agreed upon way to measure the peak brightness because it varies based on what is being displayed on the screen. This has led to some confusion, but no one’s numbers are wrong. They just lack context.

In the lead-up to CES 2015, Qualcomm has revealed a few more details about its upcoming Snapdragon 810 SoC — the company’s first flagship 64-bit chip, which will most likely power the top Android devices released in the first half of 2015. The Snapdragon 810 is an interesting chip for a number of reasons, but most notably it’s first flagship Snapdragon S4/800 chip to not feature Qualcomm’s own Krait CPU cores. Where is your own in-house 64-bit CPU core, Qualcomm?

Every year, our smartphones get more and more powerful. These handheld computers certainly aren’t going to compete head-to-head with a PS4 or a high-end gaming PC, but they pack more than enough horsepower to run a full-fledged desktop computing experience. But can your smartphone really replace your desktop? That’s exactly what this Kickstarter project aims to do.

Remember that neat little cardboard contraption that turns your Android smartphone into a pair of do-it-yourself virtual reality goggles? Well, it seems that Google isn’t content to let that cheeky little idea die. Instead, the folks at Mountain View are doubling down on this adorable low-cost VR solution, and dedicating an entire section of the Play Store to Google Cardboard.

For all of the massive technological advances that we’ve seen over the last few years, there are still a number of dinosaurs from a bygone era that — rather unfortunately — just won’t die. JPEG is one of the most prominent examples: It was created more than 20 years ago, and yet its antiquated, bloated, blocky algorithm still dominates the web. Now, however, there’s a replacement in town — it’s called BPG, and it’s awesome.

In an opening salvo of what is surely to be a barrage of internet-of-things (IoT) announcements next month at CES, Intel has announced its IoT Platform, focusing on a horizontal approach to building an interoperable ecosystem for the IoT. The platform aims to simplify connectivity and increase security of data to and from from IoT devices, two key areas that need considerable improvement to scale deployment of IoT devices and networks.

Microsoft has indicated that Windows 10, which will be released next year, could move towards a subscription-based model. Instead of going the usual route and buying a perpetual Windows 10 license for $50 to $200, you would instead pay a few dollars per month — and then, as with most subscriptions, you’d get free upgrades when major new versions of Windows come along. Another option might be that you get a basic version of Windows 10 for free, but a subscription would unlock more advanced features.

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Copyright 1996-2015 Ziff Davis, LLC.PCMag Digital Group All Rights Reserved. ExtremeTech is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis, LLC. is prohibited.